Barbara Strozzilaan 336
1083 HN Amsterdam
The Netherlands
gssbsecretariat@globalreporting.org

1

GSSB summary of the virtual meeting2

held on 25 March 2021
Approved by the GSSB on 10 June 2021

© GRI 2021

3Contents

4Participants.............................................................................................................................................. 3

5

List of abbreviations ................................................................................................................................ 3

6Decisions and action items ..................................................................................................................... 4

7Session 1: Welcome ............................................................................................................................... 4

8Session 2: GRI Universal Standards project........................................................................................... 5

9

Revisions to the reporting model in GRI 101 ................................................................................... 5

10

Revisions to GRI 102 Governance disclosures ............................................................................... 5

11Session 3: Any other business and close of public meeting ................................................................... 7

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12Participants

13

Present:

141516

Name

Constituency

Judy Kuszewski

Chair

Robyn Leeson

Vice-Chair

Loredana Carta

LaborPeter Colley

Labor

Giulia Genuardi

Business enterprise

Evan Harvey

Investment institution

Joseph Martin

Business enterpriseJennifer Princing

Business enterprise

Corli le RouxMediating institution

Kim Schumacher

Civil society organization

Gustavo SinnerMediating institution

Kenton Swift

Civil society organization

Rama Krishnan Venkateswaran

Investment institution

Michel Washer

Business enterprise

Apologies:
NameConstituency

Vincent Kong

Business enterprise

In attendance from GRI:
NamePosition

Bastian Buck

Chief of Standards

Anna Krotova

Senior Manager

Sharon Hagen

Senior Coordinator

List of abbreviations
GSSB
SD
ICGN

Global Sustainability Standards Board
Standards DivisionInternational Corporate Governance Network

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17

Decisions and action items

18

Decisions19

None in this meeting.

20

Action items
GSSB
Session 2•

GSSB to further review ICGN feedback, including feedback on
Disclosure GOV-9 to confirm removing the requirement GOV-9c.

Standards Division
Session 2•

SD to complete internal analysis of the notification requirement
and present the results of further internal discussion andanalysis at the April GSSB meeting.

•SD to incorporate GSSB feedback into the draft of Disclosure
GOV-6.

•SD to provide opportunity for GSSB to further assess anddiscuss the purpose and requirements of Disclosure GOV-14.

•

SD to further develop reporting requirements and guidance forrequirement GOV-1-c for GSSB review.

21

Session 1: Welcome

22

The Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB) Chair Judy Kuszewski (henceforth the Chair)

23

welcomed the GSSB and presented an overview of the meeting agenda.

24

A GSSB member raised a concern that, due to the late arrival of Item 03 - GRI Universal Standards

25

Project - Revised Governance disclosures GRI 102, there had been little time to consider the26associated recommendations from the Standards Division (SD).

27

The SD responded that this item is only for discussion in this meeting, and that the GSSB is invited to28

review and provide feedback on these revisions until Wednesday 31 March. The SD also stated that29

final recommendations will be discussed in the next GSSB meeting on 29 April 2021.

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Session 2: GRI Universal Standards

31

project

32

Revisions to the reporting model in GRI 101

33

The GSSB was presented with Item 01 - GRI Universal Standards Project - Revised section 3 GRI

34

101 for discussion.

35

The SD presented key changes made to the reporting model in section 3 of GRI 101, including the36

GRI content index and the statement of use, and solicited further feedback on the changes.

37

The GSSB discussed the expectations associated with the ‘not applicable’ reason for omission when38

the item required by the disclosure (e.g., committee, policy, practice) does not exist. The SD clarified

39

that there is no expectation for the organization to implement this item, and it is left to the discretion of40

the organization to explain why they do not have it, or to explain plans to develop it.

41

The SD also discussed the requirement to notify GRI of the use of the GRI Standards and statement

42of use, including challenges with the process to notify GRI. The SD explained that further discussion

43

about and analysis of the process to handle the notification are underway internally, and more

44

information would be presented at the next meeting.

45

A GSSB member confirmed that the current report registration process is complicated and difficult,46

especially for users in other languages, and welcomed further discussion of options after the internal

47

review.

48

Actions:

49
50•

SD to complete internal analysis of the notification requirement and present the results offurther internal discussion and analysis at the April GSSB meeting.

51

Revisions to GRI 102 Governance disclosures

52

The GSSB was presented with Item 03 - GRI Universal Standards Project - Revised Governance53

disclosures GRI 102 for discussion.

54

The SD provided a summary of public comment feedback on the governance disclosures, presented

55

an overview of the key changes to the disclosures, and put forward four proposals for discussion

56

resulting from public comment and International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) feedback.

57

In the first proposal, the SD presented two options to revise Disclosure GOV-9 ‘Communication of58

critical concerns’. The GSSB indicated an initial preference for option 2, removing the requirement

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GOV-9-c ‘describe the mechanisms used to address and resolve critical concerns’. It was discussed

60

that this will need to be confirmed after GSSB members can further review ICGN’s feedback.

61

The SD presented a second proposal for revisions to Disclosure GOV-6 ‘Role of the highest

62

governance body in sustainability reporting’ in response to ICGN feedback that the highest

63

governance body should approve the organization’s sustainability reporting, not a senior executive.

64

The GSSB discussed that although the organization’s highest governance body does approve the65sustainability reporting, the review of the reported information is often delegated to subject matter

66

experts. The GSSB stressed that the language in Disclosure GOV-6 needs to reflect this practice. The

67

SD will incorporate the GSSB feedback into the draft.

68

The third SD proposal presented options to revise Disclosure GOV-14 ‘Annual total compensation69

ratio’ to incorporate public comment and ICGN feedback about what values are most useful to70

compare when assessing impacts of compensation. The GSSB indicated that further assessment and71

discussion was needed to clarify the rationale and purpose of the disclosure, as well as what

72

information it should require. The SD will take GSSB feedback under advisement.

73

In its fourth proposal, the SD presented two potential revisions to address GSSB, public comment,74

and ICGN feedback on the requirement GOV-1-c, which requires organizations to describe the75

composition of the highest governance body and its committees by gender and under-represented

76

social groups, among others.

77

The GSSB discussed what characteristics of diversity are appropriate to include in this disclosure,78including whether providing a list of potential categories of diversity would create more clarity or

79

further complication. The SD stated that this is a currently evolving issue, and that diversity will likely

80

come up during the review of the GRI Topic Standards in the second phase of the human rights work.

81

The Chair suggested that this disclosure still requires more thought, and that likely the final disclosure

82

will require some combination of reporting the approach to board diversity, as well as some non-83

exhaustive list of potential characteristics. The SD will take GSSB feedback under advisement.

84

The SD then reviewed the upcoming project timeline, including the upcoming items for GSSB review.

85

Actions:86•

87

GSSB to further review ICGN feedback, including feedback on Disclosure GOV-9 to confirm
removing the requirement GOV-9-c.

88•

SD to incorporate GSSB feedback into the draft of Disclosure GOV-6.

89•

SD to provide opportunity for GSSB to further assess and discuss the purpose and

90
91
92

requirements of Disclosure GOV-14.
•SD to further develop reporting requirements and guidance for requirement GOV-1-c for
GSSB review.

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Session 3: Any other business and94

close of public meeting95

The SD and the Chair expressed the GSSB’s sincere appreciation to Kriti Toshniwal, who is departing96

the SD, for her years of dedication and service as writer and editor on the team and wished her well in97

her next endeavors.

98

The SD also highlighted the upcoming public survey to inform Phase 2 of the GRI Topic Standards

99

Project for Human Rights, as well as an upcoming open position in the SD, and asked for the GSSB’s100help with promoting both in their networks.

101

No other business was raised, and the Chair closed the meeting at 14.59 CET (Central European102Time).

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